"Designer's Notes" to be included...

[Jdvn1]

Cool idea!

 

[JVisgaitis]

I haven't see Hand of Doom, but it definitely sounds cool. I love looking into the thought process of what's in a designer's mind and their intent.

 

[the Jester]

This is really cool imho. I too loved the "behind the curtain" sidebars, and I really like the sidebars in RHoD as well.

 

[Hussar]

Considering the amount of hoopla (euphemism) that gets chucked around on the internet regarding all sorts of things in the game - Encounter Level, Challenge Rating, Level Adjustment just to name three - hopefully this sort of thing will give people even more to bitch and complain about.

 

[Razz]

But really -- it seems like WotC books are getting squeezed down to a paltry 160 pages, with no attendant price decrease. Where are they going to fit these designer notes? What is going to get booted to fit them in?

I'm skeptical.

My feelings exactly. Their page count is decreasing, the price remains the same, and they're continuing to squeeze more and more...well...crap. Stuff that either has nothing to do with guiding you to your own creations or just random trivia.

If there's one designer note I do care about seeing, it's the one on the page count and the odd shift in recent D&D books towards "we'll do the work for you and shove it in here, deleting what material we could've given had we had room..."

 

[Staffan]

I don't think (at least I hope not) designer's notes would be used for every feat and PrC, but for things that are a bit out of the ordinary. For example, the Mystic Theurge should have been presented with a small box saying "This might look broken, but it's not, because you still only get one action per round, you won't have access to the highest level of spells a single-classed caster will, and you'll have to spend resources (e.g. gear and feats) to keep up with two different types of casting." Similarly, the entire feat chapter in the PHB2 could have been presented with a box saying that it represent a conscious effort to make some high-level feats that are worthwhile at high levels, and the spells chapter in Races of Eberron could have included a box explaining the rationale behind those spells that give you some minor benefits while you have them prepared (can't recall the term they used for them).

 

[wedgeski]

This is nothing but a good idea. I've used so many variants out of Unearthed Arcana after reading the notes and getting a good feel for how the designers intended them to be used - and not used.

As for page count, I could probably think of about 10% of every single Wizards' release that I would gladly see removed in favour of notes on the remaining 90%. It's not an issue.

And finally, I get a good feeling about Wizards when they decide to go in this kind direction. It shows they're using their brains!

 

[JoeGKushner]

If there is to be filler, I'd much rather it be design notes than some of the useless, half-baked stuff I've seen in many books.

10 to 1 that half baked stuff ain't going anyway either.

 

[D.Shaffer]

As long as they dont go overboard with it, I like seeing designer notes. It lets me see the thoughts behind some of the rules, which helps if I want to adjust something.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Designer's Notes: We really thought that a mage with d4 hit dice was a stupid idea but it's a sacred cow. Desperate to insure that a mage with no Constitution bonus might have some slim chance of survival, we put the Toughness feat into the game. Sure, +3 hit points is pretty useless after the first couple of levels but hey, you've got to make it to those first couple levels!

Description: What would've been a fatal blow to a less hardy character instead merely injures you.

+3 hit points. Can be taken multiple times.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it!